


Everything's easier with you

by lasersheith



Series: Easier with you [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Fluff, Humor, M/M, minor side pairing: matt/allura, prompts, veterans keith and shiro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2019-04-22 03:22:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14299683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasersheith/pseuds/lasersheith
Summary: From the prompt: "mutually pining Keith and Shiro with matching tattoos (something that’s meaningful to them specifically)... that they got separately, without realizing they were getting matching tattoos"For Kenobrea on tumblr!





	Everything's easier with you

**Author's Note:**

> Originally this was going to be a 2k long drabble to fill the prompt and it kind of got away from me lol

A lot of people asked Allura why she became a tattoo artist of all things. Her mother and father, with their high ranking offices and political connections had always expected her to follow in their footsteps, but loved her and supported her decision even if they didn’t understand it. When she first became interested in art and design, her uncle, with his veritable fashion empire had been especially keen to take her under his wing, but still offered her his critiques and praises for her beautiful work. Her friends from the ivy league school at which she’d gotten a full ride for a business degree pretended they didn’t turn up their noses at her chosen career, but it didn’t bother her in the slightest. Especially not when a familiar handsome face walked into her quiet little shop.

“Keith! Back again, are we?” She greeted him with a smile.

“You’ve turned me into an addict, Ally. Can’t stay away long.” He replied, returning her smile and dropping a sheet of notebook paper in front of her on the desk. The page was filled with pencil sketches. There was a large, black panther in the middle with an inscrutable expression, poised to pounce. Along the edges there were more sketches of large cats; a few leopards, a cheetah, another panther. The one that caught her eye the most, however, was the lion. It stood serenely, facing just slightly left of center, windswept mane appearing to billow in an unseen breeze. It exuded a certain dangerous quality that Allura couldn’t quite name. As though it were standing there just to observe, but it absolutely wasn’t to be trifled with.

It was perfect for Keith.

“I think this one.” She said, pointing at it.

Keith hummed in approval. “Not the panther?” He asked tentatively.

“Well it’s your body, so we can do the panther if that’s what you’d like.” She started tactfully. “But I think the lion suits you better.” He nodded, deep in thought. “I do think you’ve just about run out of room on your arms and chest, though.” She added with a teasing smile. “Where is this one going?”

He turned around and hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “I was thinking in between my shoulder blades, pretty big. Dinner plate sized, maybe?” Allura narrowed her eyes and looked between the spot where he was pointing and the paper.

She held the drawing up, first looking at the panther and then the lion. “That should work.” She finally said after a brief pause, twisting the paper a few ways to gauge where each drawing would look best.

“Let’s do it then,” He said decisively, “The lion.”

Allura nodded with a smile. “Alright then, let’s get started.”

2 hours later, all of the outlining was finished and looked absolutely perfect to Allura’s eyes. She held up a mirror in front of Keith as he studied the fresh tattoo from the larger wall mirror’s reflection with a wide smile. “I think this is my favorite one yet.” He said, looking up at her.

She grinned back. “Excellent!” She replied triumphantly. “I think we should wait 10 days, maybe 2 weeks for the rest. Let you heal up and rest, this piece is pretty big.”

He nodded. “Same time, Saturday after next?”

She pulled out her phone and put his next appointment in her calendar. “You’re booked. Let’s get you covered up and checked out, then.”

..

Some days Allura regretted her walk-in policy; there was always the danger of people coming in to get something on the spur of the moment and being angry when they regret it, inebriated college boys who don’t understand how bleeding works and why she won’t tattoo them when they’re nearly black out drunk, and kids who come in pretending they “forgot” their ID at home. Other days, ridiculously tall and muscular, handsome, one-armed strangers waltz in wearing leather jackets, tight jeans, and boots that make her mouth drop open and she didn’t regret it at all. He smiled shyly at her as he approached the counter. “Hi there, how can I help you?” She asked with her best charming smile.

The man returned it politely and pulled an unevenly folded sheet of notebook paper from his pocket, slightly poking his tongue out between his pursed lips as he struggled to unfold it with one hand. Allura waited patiently, sensing that he would be put off by an offer of assistance. “I was hoping to do a consultation to maybe get one of these done on my chest.” He said, having finally opened the page flat on the counter.

The lions littering the page were Keith’s work. There was no doubt in her mind. Allura had tattooed enough of his drawings on his own skin that she’d be able to pick them out in the dark if the lines were drawn hard enough. “Where did you get this?” She asked, trying not to sound hostile. Art theft was rampant in the tattooing community and she wouldn’t let it happen to one of her best customers, especially since she also considered him a close friend.

The man’s cheeks went pink and he stuttered a bit. “My friend is an artist.” He started, clearing his throat before continuing. “We went to the zoo and he was sketching, so I asked him to draw some of the lions for me.”

Allura eyed him suspiciously for a moment. “Does this friend have a name?” She asked.

The man looked immediately affronted. “Keith.” He said plainly. “Look, I can go somewhere else if you want.” His voice took on a hardened edge.

Everything clicked into place for her with that. The leather jacket and jawline that could cut glass should have clenched it immediately, but she was an artist not a detective. The new “friend” Keith had mentioned spending time with, the one he’d been going on and on about how sweet and kind and strong he was. He’d mentioned their date to the zoo to Allura during his last tattooing session, having absolutely denied it was a date, because “there’s no way someone like _him_ is into someone like _me_ , Allura, come on.” She held up her hands, “No, no, I’m sorry. Keith comes here a lot is all, I recognized his work and wanted to make sure you hadn’t stolen it.”

His eyes and his posture softened at her words. “Oh, ok. Well that’s really cool of you, actually.” He said with a faraway smile. “His work is pretty one of a kind, isn’t it?” Allura tried hard not to giggle. He was absolutely done for and it was painfully obviously written clear across his face.

“It is absolutely unique and gorgeous.” She agreed. “And I think any of these would look great on you, which one’s your favorite?” She asked, the vibe of the conversation having eased back into a much more friendly one.

“I was thinking this one.” She smiled as he pointed at a drawing that was very reminiscent of the one she’d just done on Keith. The lion was sitting in this one, not standing, facing slightly to the right this time. His mane was fluffed and blowing in the breeze, and he had that same hint of dangerous, predatory energy while still appearing aloof and regal.

“Great choice.” She replied sincerely. “I've done a lot of Keith's work, I'm more than comfortable freehanding it, but I’m happy to use a stencil if that's what you'd prefer.” She pulled a binder out of the desk drawer and laid it on the table, hundreds of small photos of her previous work was lovingly arranged in the plastic sleeves. The middle had a divider. “Up here is stenciled work, and the back is freehand. Feel free to take your time looking.”

She observed him as he poured through the book, comparing several pictures from the front and back in turns. Keith had described him as breathtaking, and he certainly wasn’t wrong. The scar across the bridge of his nose only made him more handsome, somehow sharpening his features even further than nature already had. She had to stifle a laugh as she noticed him clack the barbell in his tongue against the roof of his mouth while deep in thought. Keith had never stood a chance. He looked up at her with another polite smile. “I think freehand is fine. Your work is really incredible.” Praises for her art were the quickest path to excellent service. She’d gladly bend over backwards for a polite customer who claimed to be a fan.

“I’m so glad you think so.” She answered with a bright smile. “When were you thinking?”

He pulled out his phone and opened his calendar. “When’s your next available appointment?”

She pulled open her own shop calendar and hummed in thought. “Well, I have a Tuesday at 4:30. Or if you’ve not had any aspirin or alcohol in about 12 hours, we could do it now. I don’t have anyone else scheduled for 3 hours. That should be plenty of time provided it’s going in this area.” She made a circle with her hands in the air around one of his pecs. His eyes widened a little. “Or if you need more time to think about it. No rush.” He smiled wide.

“No, now is perfect. Keith’s away for work, so I’ll be able to show it off all healed up by the time he gets back.” Allura returned his grin and had him sign all the usual paperwork. He finally introduced himself as Shiro. She couldn’t wait for the frantic messages from Keith when he finally saw Shiro’s tattoo of his drawing. Allura led him back to the sterile tattooing room trying not to snicker about Keith’s reaction, it was sure to be priceless.

“Oh uh…” Shiro started, clearly nervous. He shrugged off his jacket and hung it on the hook next to the door. “Before we get started. There’s um. There’s kind of a lot…” Allura waited patiently again as he tried to find the right words. “There’s a lot of scarring. The spot I want the ink doesn’t have much, but it might be hard to look at.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes as he spoke.

“Don’t worry about that at all. I promise there’s nothing you can show me that I would run from.” She meant it sincerely, and he appeared to not mistake it for a platitude, offering her a kind smile in return. “And, if I may be so bold.” She added quietly. “I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way.” Shiro knew, of course, who she meant.

A dark blush spread its way across his cheeks. “Here’s to hoping.” He replied with a slight chuckle.

He pulled the white shirt up over his head and with a practiced motion. She took in the scars around his missing arm first, they looked faded and pink- clearly an old injury. There were several other scars across his chest and stomach, some deep and still an angry purplish color, others not as severe and closer to the tone of his skin. “Not even close to the worst thing I’ve seen.” She said as she pulled on her gloves and set about opening all of the fresh packages. “Let me tell you about the ridiculous frat boy that came in a few years back.” She started her story as she set about preparing his skin for the ink. “You’ll NEVER believe what he wanted.” She pulled back and made a disgusted face. “Or _where._ ” Shiro visibly relaxed and laughed a bit, coaxing her for the rest of the story as she started.

**Part Two**

It wasn't like Keith to be late. Shiro checked his watch again, 12 minutes past the start of their VA group therapy session. It had been months since the two of them had met on this very sidewalk, both loitering outside, unsure of whether or not to go to that first meeting. Keith had been the one to finally coax them inside, looking him in the eyes and saying “I'll go in if you'll go in.”

Almost every week since then, barring a few where one or both had been out of town, they met each other outside and walked in together. It felt ridiculous, but Shiro felt his heart speed up uncomfortably at the thought of walking in alone. He checked his phone. The only message he had from Keith was the one he'd gotten late last night. “Made it back home safe! See ya @ group tmrw.” He frowned and shoved his phone back in his pocket.

He breathed in, squared his shoulders and stood up as tall as he could before letting the breath out. It was just a building. He'd walked into and out of several buildings nearly every day of his life for the past 30 years. He could do this. He took another slow, deep breath. His hand hovered over the doorknob. He dropped it back by his side. He'd give Keith just a few more minutes.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he heard the unmistakable sound of Keith's motorcycle turn the corner. He smiled and walked to the edge of the curb where Keith had parked. “Hey! You waited.” Keith said with a smile after pulling off his helmet.

It had only been just over a week since Shiro had seen him, but he'd missed Keith a wholly disproportionate amount. “Of course I waited.”

Keith set his helmet on the bike and pulled Shiro into a loose hug. Both of their cheeks tinged pink as they stood, a respectful several inches apart, facing each other on the sidewalk. “Should we?” Keith nodded to the door.

“Oh. Right, yeah.” Shiro replied with a laugh. They walked up to the entrance and Keith smiled as Shiro held the door open for him.

They walked in as the coordinator was speaking in response to someone's shared story. She greeted them with a warm smile but didn't stop her moving speech to the rest of the circle. Once she was finished, she looked over at them. “Keith and Shiro, good to see you're back this week.” She said sweetly.

Shiro smiled and nodded towards her briefly, he wasn't much for talking during these meetings. “Thank you, ma'am. Er… Colleen.” Keith responded with a warm smile of his own.

“Anything either of you would like to share?” She asked.

Keith nodded and stood up, pulling up the back of his shirt. “I was late because I was getting this touched up. It's number 20 and my absolute favorite so far.” The lion in between his shoulder blades looked almost like it could have been a heavily filtered photograph. The colors were less tan and orange like an actual lion and more stylized, rich reds and faded auburn with flecks of black throughout his mane.

It was gorgeous. Shiro's mouth dropped open a little at the sight. Several others in the circle told him how great it looked and he passed out a few of Allura's cards to those that were interested. “And my business trip went really well. I had one pretty bad nightmare in the hotel but uh.” He looked to the side over at Shiro. “I called a friend and made it through just fine.” Several polite claps and words of encouragement from a few members ended Keith's share.

“That's great Keith, I'm glad to hear you're dealing with your dreams better.” Her knowing smile and pointed look in Shiro's direction had Keith’s cheeks turning a shade of red to match his new lion.

“And how about you, Shiro? Anything to share?” Shiro had shared once at group. His third session. He didn't come back for two weeks afterwards, not until Keith had tracked him down and practically dragged him. It always seemed to help more just to listen. Just to know he wasn't alone. Keith looked over at him with sympathetic eyes, as if to say _it's ok if you don't want to. No one's making you._ Shiro cleared his throat.

“Actually uhm,” Colleen's eyebrows shot up a little as he spoke. “My doctor said that my arm is finally healed enough to get fitted with a prosthetic, so…” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked up and away from everyone. “It's pretty high tech, too. I'm excited to be able to tie my own shoes again.” He said with a self-deprecating laugh, wiggling his laceless boots out in front of his chair for a moment.

“Congratulations! I'm sure that will help with your recovery tremendously. Do you want to share some more thoughts about it?” Colleen asked gently once the din of the other participants died down.

“No thanks.” Shiro answered, a little too quickly.

Keith looked over at him with a broad grin. He purposely hadn't mentioned it the few times they'd talked when he was gone so that he could surprise Keith at the session. His pulse thrummed in his neck for the rest of the meeting, the adrenaline of speaking up in front of everyone taking its sweet time to dissipate. After a few more shares and some more encouraging words from Colleen, the meeting adjourned.

“Lunch?” Keith asked as he strode over to his bike and slid on his helmet. Shiro opened the storage bag clipped onto the bike and pulled on the extra helmet Keith always kept there.

“Do you mind heading to my place first? There's something I wanted to show you.” Shiro replied, sliding onto the bike behind him, arm wrapped firmly around Keith's waist. Keith answered with a nod and a rev of the engine as he started off on the few blocks to Shiro's house.

Once they arrived, Keith parked his bike next to Shiro's shiny black car. “So how long until you get the new prosthetic?” Keith asked as they walked towards his door.

“And how long after that until I can drive the Camaro again?” Shiro replied, teasingly.

“What!? It's a beautiful car. She deserves to be driven more than a block a week in first gear.”

Shiro laughed as he unlocked the front door. “Well Matt's hopeless at stick and he's not learning in my baby.” Shiro said firmly. Keith laughed and followed him inside. “My offer still stands, by the way.” Shiro said quietly once they were inside.

“I'll think about it.” Keith's answer came out quick and clipped, his tone not matching his words. He couldn't quite articulate why, but even though on the surface it seemed like taking the car out for a spin would be fun and helpful, it just felt _wrong._ “So what did you want to show me?” He asked, changing the subject as quickly as possible.

Shiro's shy smile made his stomach flutter. “Wait right there.” He said as he walked into the kitchen, leaving Keith standing in the living room. Matt's shoes and favorite hoodie weren't by the door, Keith noted. It was unusual for him not to be here when they got back from lunch after group.

Shiro emerged from the kitchen shirtless, with a towel draped over his right shoulder, covering half of his chest. Keith raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Shiro pulled the towel away with a cheeky “tah-dah!” and Keith's eyes widened. He couldn't help but take the few steps to close the gap between them, holding a hand out just over the plastic-wrapped ink on Shiro's chest. “This is…” Keith couldn't make his brain form the rest of the thought as he stared at the tattoo.

It was bigger than Keith's, taking up most of Shiro's right pectoral, ending just under his collarbone. Allura had captured the air of reserved nobility in the lion’s posture and expression perfectly. The mane had been so thoughtfully drawn, blowing in the wind, that Keith was almost a little surprised at not feeling a light breeze himself. He licked his lips, deep in thought. “So what do you think?” Shiro asked after a few moments, pulling Keith out of his own buzzing mind.

“We… we match.” He replied incredulously.

Shiro let a quiet, uncomfortable laugh. “Yeah, I didn't realize you were planning on getting that done.”

Keith finally looked up at him, eyes wide and a little misty. “It…” He swallowed hard and tried again. “It looks perfect. I love it.” Shiro held his gaze, the softly spoken words taking their sweet time to process in his mind. So many things struck his senses all at once; Keith was standing so close he could feel the heat radiating off of him, the look on Keith's face that Shiro had seen many times before and not been able to grasp, the sweet smell of leather mixed with his cologne and the honey vanilla air freshener in the corner of the room, the edge of the cliff he'd been teetering on for months.

Shiro's eyes flitted to Keith's lips for the briefest of moments, but that was all it took for his careful balancing act to crumble. He leaned down, closed his eyes, and pressed their lips together, as softly and gently as if Keith were made of a thin sheet of ice that he was desperate not to crack. But Keith wasn't ice, he was fire, and Shiro's gentle breeze had stoked those flames into an inferno. Carefully avoiding the plastic-wrapped section of his torso, Keith splayed one hand over Shiro's chest and gripped the back of his neck with the other to pull them closer.

Shiro's hand kept them from crashing into the wall as Keith pulled them together and backwards. The heated exchange lasted until Shiro's chest burned for more air. He pulled back only far enough to rest his forehead against Keith's as their breathing evened out. Keith sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. He opened his eyes and saw Shiro’s tentatively hopeful smile and couldn’t help but laugh. “So…” Shiro trailed off, looking at the ground between them.

“So?” Keith asked, ducking down so Shiro was looking at him again.

Shiro lifted his head and let out a clipped laugh of his own. “Lunch?” He shrugged.

Keith smiled. “Just like that? Doesn’t that seem a little too easy?” Shiro opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to come up with the words to say. “Everything with you is easy.”

Keith smiled up at him and the glint in his eyes told Shiro that he’d picked the right ones. “Alright. Lunch date it is.” He pressed his hand to Shiro’s chest again. “And not that I’m complaining about the view, but you should probably put a shirt on first.” Shiro shook his head while he laughed. “Yeah, ok.” He grumbled as he headed back to the bedroom.

BONUS SCENES

**Matt**

“Wow holy crap, that looks amazing!” Matt gawked as he inspected the fresh ink on Shiro’s chest.

“I know, the artist is so great! She does Keith’s work a lot so she really nailed his style. I’m so happy with it.” Shiro was beaming, despite having just sat in a chair for two hours while someone stabbed him repeatedly. Matt shuddered at the thought. “She has a whole wall of pictures with her customers, too, check this out.”

He pulled out his phone and opened his recent photos. “Holy shit.” He breathed as he looked at the woman in the picture. She was easily the most breathtakingly gorgeous woman he’d ever seen in his life. “I think I want a tattoo.” Matt blurted out.

Shiro’s eyebrows nearly touched his hairline. “Matt, you almost cried last week when you got a papercut. I don’t know if a tattoo is right for you.”

Matt scoffed. “It was for dramatic effect!” He declared emphatically. (It hadn’t been, it was a cardboard cut and those are nearly lethal, thank you very much.) Shiro looked at him skeptically before taking his phone back and texting Matt the details of her shop.

The next day, Matt swung by on his way home from the lab. The shop was bustling with activity, 4 people were waiting in the front office area and Matt could hear the sound of the tattoo gun buzzing in the back. A bored teenager was sitting up at the front desk playing on her phone. “Hi.” Matt said cheerfully, snapping her to attention.

“Oh. Hey! Do you uh have an appointment?” She greeted with a wooden smile.

“No, actually, I was hoping to make one.” The fake-smile stayed in place as she scrolled through the calendar on the computer at the desk.

“Allura’s next available is Thursday at 2pm.” Matt nodded.

Was he really going to get a consultation for a tattoo just to meet a pretty girl? He swallowed hard. Yes, apparently. “Ok, great, sign me up!” He answered, just a little loudly. She looked up and gave him a funny look but took his name and phone number for the appointment booking.

..

Thursday at 1:55pm found Matt sitting in his car in the parking lot, absolutely not hyperventilating. Ok maybe he was. Just a little. The song he was listening to finished so he had officially run out of excuses to stay in the car. He walked on shaking legs into now quiet shop and the sight of Allura behind the desk filled him with resolve. He strode over as confidently as he could muster and did his best cool-guy-lean against the counter. “Hey there, you must be Allura. I’m your 2 o’clock.” She smiled at him and this time when his legs wobbled it had nothing to do with his (completely rational, thank you) fear of needles.

“Ah, you must be Matt. What can I do for you?” She replied pleasantly.

“Shiro’s a good buddy of mine, he came in not too long ago and I was just so impressed with your work I had to stop by and see about getting something.” Her eyes lit up.

“Oh, thank you so much! Shiro’s work turned out lovely, I’m so glad he’s showing it off.” Matt returned her smile.

“Yeah, especially with Keith around all the time now it’s like _hey buddy, have you ever heard of shirts?_ ” She giggled at his joke and he felt more of the tension ease out of his body. “So uh, don’t laugh, but I had this silly idea…” He pulled out his phone and showed her a picture. She did laugh, quite hard, but it appeared to be genuine instead of mocking. “What do you think?” He asked, feeling the anxiety slowly creep up his spine again.

“I think it suits you, I love it!” She answered with no hesitation.

(He didn’t cry at all, and only almost passed out once)

..

When Shiro came home that night, it was to a grinning, shirtless Matt sitting at the kitchen table. He had completely expected Matt to chicken out, but apparently he’d been wrong. “Ok, what’d you decide on?” Matt started laughing (cackling really) even before he turned around. There, on his left shoulder, permanently and prominently forever for all of posterity, sat the worst tattoo Shiro had ever seen. **Lord of the Memes** it proclaimed boldly, in the font used in the films. A golden ring glowing with gorgeous Elvish lettering sat in the background of the text.

It was an incredibly well done tattoo, artistically speaking. “I’m putting this on r/ATBGE for sure.” Shiro said as he snapped a photo.

“Whatever, you’re just jealous.” Matt said with another laugh. “Oh and check this out.” He said, handing him one of Allura’s business cards. There was something there in the same elvish script, a crudely drawn anatomical sketch of a heart, and a phone number. “It says “call me” in Elvish. How freaking cool is that?” Shiro shook his head and sighed.

“Good luck, man.” He patted Matt on the other shoulder as he made his way to his bedroom.

**The Zoo**

“That one kinda reminds me of you.” Keith said quietly as he sketched.

Shiro looked away from the lions and back over to where Keith was sitting next to him on the bench. “The big one?” He asked as he peeked at the lines on the page. Keith didn’t like him to look at his drawings before they were finished, but Shiro always found a way to sneak a few previews.

“Yeah, he’s got this… I don’t know. Like, he just commands respect, but also I kinda wanna go pet him.” Keith murmured absent-mindedly. Shiro blushed at how matter-of-fact Keith was frequently, and that observation was no exception.

“I dunno.” Shiro said, chuckling under his breath, looking at his empty sleeve forlornly. He chuckled a little under his breath. “I feel a lot more like the dopey three-legged dog that nobody at the shelter wants to adopt.” Keith put his pencil down and looked up at Shiro.

Shiro was staring straight ahead at the lions exhibit, but Keith wasn’t sure if he was seeing it at all. “Shiro…” Keith said quietly, putting a hand on his right shoulder. He didn’t move his hand even as Shiro flinched slightly. “You’re not some abandoned pet. You have so many people who are here for you, who care about you.” He looked down at the concrete in between the slats of the bench. “Like me.” It came out so softly Shiro wasn’t sure he’d really heard it at all.

“Hey,” He said with a sad smile as he turned his head back towards Keith again. “I didn’t mean to turn this into a pity-party. I hope you know how grateful I am that you’re here.” His voice came out softly, but sincerely.

“Just… don’t ever think that you’re not a lion. Because you are.” Shiro’s smile widened and lost a bit of its sad edge.

“Thanks, Keith.” Keith returned his newly brightened smile and went back to his sketches.

**Author's Note:**

> There's a lot more I would include if this was going to be a full big long fic, but I have too many other things going on right now. For what it is I think it turned out pretty cute :) come yell at me on tumblr @lasersheith


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